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Brown paper packages, tied up with string… Easy holiday gift wrapping with natural and homemade touches, including foraged greens, dried oranges and cinnamon ornaments.
Good morning friends! How is your week going so far, are you getting a little anxious for Christmas? I am amazed that December is going by so fast, I know I have said that every day but it’s true., this is the fastest month this year and next week is Christmas!
Although Christmas is my favorite holiday and I typically have all of my shopping, wrapping, and decorating finished by the first 2 weeks of November this year I just wasn’t feeling Christmas. I had all of my Christmas boxes out and the trees up but for weeks they just sat with the lights on and not one ornament, I had all of the gifts but they sat piled up for weeks and weeks just waiting to be wrapped and decked out in their Christmas finery and then I realized that this year was a year like no other so it stands to reason that Christmas should be the same.
I decided to be festive but I scaled back. I left some of the trees with just their fairy lights, another I only decorated with a few favorite ornaments and yet another tree I decided to make ornaments for, just as I had as a child. I strung cranberries, dried orange slices, made cinnamon ornaments and foraged in my yard and on my walks for holly, greens, mistletoe, pinecones and whatever else I could find.
My minimalist decorating also became part of my wrapping as well and I love how each package turned out, “brown paper packaging, tied up with string.” As I am not a very crafty person let me assure you that this is easy to replicate and you could probably do it this with things you have in your house and yard right now.
Easy Holiday Gift Wrapping
Supplies
1. Brown craft paper, you could also use brown grocery or lunch bags or brown mailing paper.
2. Red and white Twine or brown burlap twine, yarns, butchers twine or whatever you have.
3. Mistletoe, holly sprigs, candy canes, dried orange slices, cinnamon ornaments, pine sprigs, cinnamon sticks, star anise, pine cones or other foraged elements. You can also ask at the tree farm or local hardware store for leftover cuttings.
4. Gift tags. Make your own, use what you have, hand letter or paint one.
5. Scissors and tape.
NOTE: If you are artistic and I am not, you could also purchase white markers and decorate the brown paper packages like gingerbread houses which would be very cool and a great activity for the kids.
Directions
Wrap your gifts, add your twine and then affix your foraged greens, herbs, spices, or dried fruits. Add the gift tag and you are finished. Let your kids help you out, send them into the yard to find things to use to decorate their gifts.
I hope that in the rush of the season that you find time to relax and savor all of the things you enjoy about the holidays. Have a great day!
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Brown craft paper, and brown speckled paper are favorites. The gifts always look good.
I love gift wrapping especially with lo-key papers and butcher's twine!
I use my year before Christmas cards which I cut, trim, punch with a hole, add the twine, as my gift tags! It's not that I'm cheap, just like re-reading old cards and then recycling them, lol!
Your packages look very pretty Elizabeth – love the dried orange slices which must smell awesome.
No rushing for me this year – all done except baking which is on the calendar for later this week into early next week – English traditional mince pies, almond cookies, ginger crinkles, tiny savory olive and onion biscuits to serve with Stilton cheese . . . . and perhaps more.
No Christmas Eve party this year so less required. Will enjoy the hearth, music, clinking glasses with Bob and just relaxing and recalling the reason for the season. . . . .and praying for 2021 to be a better year.
Stay well – be safe.
Hugs – Mary
I want to say that if the pandemic has had one positive affect it is that our family is now celebrating the Holidays in a more traditional and less glittery, less expensive way. We are making more homemade gifts and spending less time shopping and spending less money. I think we are actually teaching our children and grandchildren some of the fun and beauty of the “older ways”. When I was a child the entire family (moms,dads, aunts, uncles, and cousins) went into the woods to find usable things in nature with which to decorate. My uncle was an artist who decorated famous store windows for the holidays. We all helped paint our nature finds for him to use while munching on homemade cookies and cocoa. It was a wonderful and memorable way to get into the Christmas spirit. It will always be one of my most valued and delightful memories. I wish today’s young folks could have those lovely, creative family times.
Kathleen, this makes my heart sing! Thank you so very much for sharing your beautiful memories! I can close my eyes and imagine myself sitting with you munching on cookies and cocoa. I think that over the last 20-25 years we have moved beyond the true meaning of the holidays which is gathering family and friends and sharing food, memories, time and love. Thankfully I have a family that is ALL ABOUT tradition and it is the most wonderful time of the year because of it. Thank you again for making my day with this beautiful comment.